A massive alien spacecraft of enormous power is approaching Earth, destroying everything in its path. The only star ship in range is the USS Enterprise still in dry-dock after a major overhaul. As Captain Willard Decker readies his ship and his crew to face this menace, Admiral James T. Kirk arrives with orders to take command of the Enterprise and intercept the alien intruder. But it has been three years since Kirk last commanded the Enterprise on its historic five year mission… is he up to the task of saving the Earth?
As far as the look and cinematography goes.. this is a beautiful film.. everything from mat paintings to the special effects where spot on and out of this world, especially for 1979. The story is great, the acting is.. well, it’s Star Trek.. but as good as it got for Mr Shatner.
Now, with all that being said.. this movie is too god damned long. They could have easily cut a half hour off and it never would have been noticed. The panoramic journey from Star Fleet command, once around the Enterprise, then around again to a docking station was 5 minutes of just that.. circling the ship. The journey through the outer energy field was close to 15 minutes and could have been cut down as well. Hell, most of the trip through the energy field made no sense to the every day viewer.
In any case, this is a good film worthy of being in anyone’s collection. I just wished it could have been cut down a bit.
